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Michael Rodrigues (BRA) displays the form that earned him the first perfect 10 point ride at the Ballito Pro on Tuesday Photo: WSL / Ballito Pro / Cestari

David van Zyl the Only South African Through to Round 2

Michael Rodriques (BRA) was the standout performer on Day 2 of the Ballito Pro presented by Billabong where the remaining 15 heats in the opening round were completed in 1.0 to 1.2 metre waves at Bather’s Beach in Ballito on Tuesday.

The young Brazilian produced a spectacular display of progressive surfing, posting the first perfect 10 point ride in the World Surf League (WSL) Qualifying Series (QS) event for a series of powerful turns and a high flying aerial manoeuvre that he landed in full control.

The current No. 18 on the QS rankings was already leading the heat with scores of 7.00 and a near-perfect 9.20.The perfect ride gave him a heat total of 19.20, the highest of the event to date, and put him out of reach of his opponents who were left in a combination situation where they needed to improve on both their scores to overtake him.

“This is a very important event for me. There are good waves and the conditions are so so, but I make some airs and the judges like it,” Rodriques said. “I stay in ranking at number 20 after one 9th place at Lowers (California) and want to go to the next event in Huntington Beach. S it’s important to do well here in Ballito.”

Rodrigues progressed to Round 2 (the Round of 48) along with second placed Stu Kennedy (AUS), with third and fourth placed Nic Von Rupp (PRT) and Hiroto Ohhara (JAP) eliminated from the event.

Earlier in the day, Ballito Pro top seed Italo Ferreira (BRA) showed the skills that have taken him to World No. 8 in his rookie year on the elite Samsung Galaxy Championship Tour (CT). Surfing well within his capabilities, Ferreira still delivered two scores in the excellent range (over 8.00 points out 10), for what was then the highest heat score of 16.70.

That left fellow Brazilian Flavio Nakagima in second place and through to the next round while Beyrick de Vries (ZAF) from nearby Umhlanga and Vasco Ribeiro (PRT) were eliminated in third and fourth places respectively. Nakagima gained entry to the main event by finishing runner-up in the Ballito Pro Trials presented by Billabong on Sunday.

“The waves were good, it’s fun but it’s small. I’m stoked with my first heat and this event,” Ferreira said. “This is my first time here and I’m happy and I hope to keep going in the next heat. I did some airs on the left and I got a good rotation, so yeah I’m stoked.”

The local South African challenge for the prestigious Ballito Pro title rests on the shoulders of 22-year-old David van Zyl from Glenashley after Jordy Smith (Durban) and Michael February (Kommetjie) were ousted yesterday and de Vries and Dale Staples (St Francis Bay) were sidelined today.

Van Zyl finished second behind Marc Lacomare (FRA) and ahead of Jonathan Gonzalez (CNY) and Carlos Munoz (CRI). He posted a 6.00 early in the heat and then a 6.80 with five minutes to go, after which the ocean went flat and he held on to the runner-up spot.

“It’s a big result for me. I haven’t had many results, or many keepers this year, so it’s hopefully going to turn my year around and I’m hoping to build off this first heat,” van Zyl said.

“I surf onshore like this quite a lot so I know there’s no defined peaks and you’ve just got to keep moving around and try keep busy. That’s what I started off the heat doing, and then the rest of the heat I was just waiting for a bomb, and luckily the other guys didn’t manage to get two big scores.”

Cooper Chapman (AUS) was another who enjoyed the conditions, racking up a heat total of 17,27, the third highest of the event, and fellow Australian Soli Bailey earned a near perfect 9.57, the second highest score to date after Rodrigues’ 10 pointer, in winning his heat.

Conditions are expected to be similar for Day 3 on Wednesday and the organisers will meet at 7am for a possible 7.15am start. The event runs until Sunday 5 July when the winner will receive US $40 000 (nearly R500 000) and a coveted 10 000 points on the QS rankings

All the action at the Ballito Pro presented by Billabong can be watched live while the contest is running at www.worldsurfleague.com and www.theballitopro.com

The competitors in the Ballito Pro are also be competing for valuable specialty prizes in the Monster Energy Expression Session presented by Zigzag and the Monster Energy Wave of the Week presented by Zigzag which will reward the respective winners with R20 000 and R25 000 each. See more details at http://theballitopro.com/expression-session/

While the surfers ride the waves, the Ballito Pro Festival is set to turn up the heat in KwaDukuza by offering the best in beach, music and extreme sports entertainment. Locals and holiday-makers will be spoilt for choice with the week-long festival featuring an
extreme sports programme, the Coastal Living Bru Food & Wine Festival and an exciting retail area while the Tropika Ballito Pro Music Concerts Powered by 5FM bring some of South Africa’s most talented music acts to the stage in Salt Rock.

The Ballito Pro presented by Billabong is proudly supported by the KwaDukuza Municipality, Billabong, 5FM, Monster Energy, Zigzag Surfing Magazine, World Surf League (WSL) and Surfing South Africa (SSA).

PLEASE NOTE: High resolution images are available rights free to media organisations on request

About the World Surf League
The World Surf League (WSL) organizes the annual tour of professional surf competitions and broadcasts each event live at WorldSurfLeague.com where you can experience the athleticism, drama and adventure of competitive surfing — anywhere and anytime it’s on. The WSL sanctions and operates the following tours: the Junior Tour, Longboard Tour, the Qualifying Series (QS), the Big Wave Tour and the crown jewel of the sport, the WSL Championship Tour (CT) which determines the sport’s undisputed world champions. The organization is headquartered in Santa Monica, California with Commercial Offices in New York. The offices are supported by regional centres in Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, Hawaii, North America and South America.

Surfing South Africa
The Ballito Pro, Ballito Women’s Pro and the Ballito Pro Trials, all presented by Billabong, are registered with Surfing South Africa, the governing body for the sport in South Africa and a member of the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) and the International Surfing Association (ISA).

Competition in the Ballito Pro presented by Billabong resumed at Bather’s Beach in Ballito this morning with competitors in Heat 10 of the Round of 96 taking to the one metre waves fanned by a SW offshore breeze.

A QS 10,000 rated event on the World Surf League (WSL) Qualifying Series (QS), the Ballito Pro features an elite 96-man entry of the world top ranked surfers. On offer is a total prize-purse of US $250 000 (over R3 million) and invaluable ranking points, with the winner taking home nearly R500 000 and adding 10,000 points to his season’s tally.

Organisers had no hesitation in basing the contest at Bather’s Beach, 300 metres south of the main venue at Surfer’s Beach, and hope to complete the 24 heats in the Round of 96. Surfers in the first four heats of Round 2 are on standby to compete if conditions remain contestable.

Watch all the action live at www.worldsurfleague.com and www.theballitopro.com

The competitors in the Ballito Pro will also be competing for valuable specialty prizes in the Monster Energy Expression Session presented by Zigzag and the Monster Energy Wave of the Week presented by Zigzag which will reward the respective winners with R20 000 and R25 000 each. See more details at http://theballitopro.com/expression-session/

While the surfers ride the waves, the Ballito Pro Festival is set to turn up the heat in KwaDukuza by offering the best in beach, music and extreme sports entertainment. Locals and holiday-makers will be spoilt for choice with the week-long festival featuring an
extreme sports programme, the Coastal Living Bru Food & Wine Festival and an exciting retail area while the Tropika Ballito Pro Music Concerts Powered by 5FM bring some of South Africa’s most talented music acts to the stage in Salt Rock.

The Ballito Pro presented by Billabong is proudly supported by the KwaDukuza Municipality, Billabong, 5FM, Monster Energy, Zigzag Surfing Magazine, World Surf League (WSL) and Surfing South Africa (SSA).

ENDS

PLEASE NOTE: High resolution images are available rights free to media organisations on request

About the World Surf League
The World Surf League (WSL) organizes the annual tour of professional surf competitions and broadcasts each event live at WorldSurfLeague.com where you can experience the athleticism, drama and adventure of competitive surfing — anywhere and anytime it’s on. The WSL sanctions and operates the following tours: the Junior Tour, Longboard Tour, the Qualifying Series (QS), the Big Wave Tour and the crown jewel of the sport, the WSL Championship Tour (CT) which determines the sport’s undisputed world champions. The organization is headquartered in Santa Monica, California with Commercial Offices in New York. The offices are supported by regional centres in Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, Hawaii, North America and South America.

Surfing South Africa
The Ballito Pro, Ballito Women’s Pro and the Ballito Pro Trials, all presented by Billabong, are registered with Surfing South Africa, the governing body for the sport in South Africa and a member of the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) and the International Surfing Association (ISA).

Brent Dorrington (AUS) flies above the lip of the wave on his way to posting the highest heat total of the opening day of the Ballito Pro on Monday Photo: WSL / Ballito Pro / Cestari

Major upsets as Tim Reyes and Jordy Smith eliminated in Round 1

The world’s best surfers revelled in the glassy one metre well shaped waves at Bather’s Beach in KwaDukuza on the opening day of the Ballito Pro presented by Billabong, posting several scores in the excellent range (over 8.00 out of 10).

The third of nine QS 10,000 rated events on the 2015 World Surf League (WSL) Qualifying Series (QS), the Ballito Pro offers the highest available rankings points towards qualification for the elite WSL Championship Tour (CT) and has attracted a 96-man field of the world top ranked surfers.

After checking the conditions at 7am, organisers opted to move the event from the main venue at Surfer’s Beach to Bathers Beach, 300 metres to the south, where the waves offered the competitors higher potential to produce the spectacular surfing they are capable of.

Alejo Muniz (BRA), a former Top 34 ranked surfer, made excellent use of his pre-event practice sessions to record rides of 9.00 and 7.50 for a heat tally of 16.50, the second highest of the day, to win Heat 2 and advance to the Round of 48.

“You know it was funny because I’ve been surfing that little right for the past five days,” Muniz said. “We never had a heat over there but it just looked so much better than in front of the contest and today I had to surf my heat over there, so I felt like I knew where to surf more than the other guys. It was pretty cool.”

“I’ve been on the CT for four years and I really want to come back cause I feel like I can do better, so I’m just really focused on this QS. Every Prime (QS 10,000) event is really important but for some reason here in Ballito is really special. I really like this place and the year that I qualify my first time I had to keep my results here so hopefully I can do it well again.”

Brent Dorrington (AUS) claimed the highest heat tally of the day when he racked up scores of 8.93 and 7.67 for total 16.60 to win Heat 8 and progress to Round 2 along with second placed Tomas Fernandes (PRT). The pair caused a major upset by eliminating local favourite and current World No. 18, Jordy Smith (ZAF), in the process.

“It’s been super small and just winning the heat against Jordy, I was stoked,” Dorrington said. “It was a bit of a seesaw heat, the lead kept changing and the guy from Portugal (Fernandes) was getting bombs. I went into second and needed a big score, then I got my 8.9 towards the end, about 5 minutes left, and there wasn’t many waves after that.”

Smith, competing for first time since recovering from a serious knee injury, was hoping for a long run in the event he won in 2010. The Durbanite will be hoping that more practice will prepare him for the second half of the season after finishing fourth in the heat behind third placed Granger Larsen (HAW).

The South African was joined on the sidelines by last year’s winner Tim Reyes (USA), who bowed out in the first heat of the day, and Tanner Gudauskas (USA), the 2009 winner, who despite earning the highest single score of the day, a 9.10, could not find a high-scoring second ride and was ousted by Heat 4 winner Medi Veminardi (REU) and CT rookie Matt Banting (AUS).

A combination of incoming tide and a brisk onshore wind that marred the wave quality led to organisers calling a halt to the day’s action at the end of Heat 9. They will convene at 7am on Tuesday morning to make the call on when to restart the event.

All the action at the Ballito Pro presented by Billabong can be watched live while the contest is running at www.worldsurfleague.com and www.theballitopro.com

The competitors in the Ballito Pro will also be competing for valuable specialty prizes in the Monster Energy Expression Session presented by Zigzag and the Monster Energy Wave of the Week presented by Zigzag which will reward the respective winners with R20 000 and R25 000 each. See more details at http://theballitopro.com/expression-session/

While the surfers ride the waves, the Ballito Pro Festival is set to turn up the heat in KwaDukuza by offering the best in beach, music and extreme sports entertainment. Locals and holiday-makers will be spoilt for choice with the week-long festival featuring an
extreme sports programme, the Coastal Living Bru Food & Wine Festival and an exciting retail area while the Tropika Ballito Pro Music Concerts Powered by 5FM bring some of South Africa’s most talented music acts to the stage in Salt Rock.

The Ballito Pro presented by Billabong is proudly supported by the KwaDukuza Municipality, Billabong, 5FM, Monster Energy, Zigzag Surfing Magazine, World Surf League (WSL) and Surfing South Africa (SSA).

PLEASE NOTE: High resolution images are available rights free to media organisations on request

About the World Surf League
The World Surf League (WSL) organizes the annual tour of professional surf competitions and broadcasts each event live at WorldSurfLeague.com where you can experience the athleticism, drama and adventure of competitive surfing — anywhere and anytime it’s on. The WSL sanctions and operates the following tours: the Junior Tour, Longboard Tour, the Qualifying Series (QS), the Big Wave Tour and the crown jewel of the sport, the WSL Championship Tour (CT) which determines the sport’s undisputed world champions. The organization is headquartered in Santa Monica, California with Commercial Offices in New York. The offices are supported by regional centres in Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, Hawaii, North America and South America.

Surfing South Africa
The Ballito Pro, Ballito Women’s Pro and the Ballito Pro Trials, all presented by Billabong, are registered with Surfing South Africa, the governing body for the sport in South Africa and a member of the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) and the International Surfing Association (ISA).

Small waves at Surfer’s Beach in Ballito at dawn prompted the organisers to move the R3 milion Ballito Pro 300 metres further south to Bather’s Beach where the first 15 heats of Round 1 of the QS 10,000 rated contest are scheduled to be run todayPhoto: WSL / LifesaBeach

The Ballito Pro presented by Billabong got underway in one metre, hip to head high waves at Bather’s Beach in Ballito this morning with surfers in the first 15 heats of Round 1 put on standby to compete today.

A QS 10,000 rated event on the World Surf League (WSL) Qualifying Series (QS), the Ballito Pro features an elite 96-man entry of the world top ranked surfers. On offer is a total prize-purse of US $250 000 (over R3 million) and invaluable ranking points, with the winner taking home nearly R500 000 and adding 10,000 points to his season’s tally.

Organisers decided to move the event 300 metres south of the main venue at Surfer’s Beach where the waves are providing higher scoring potential.

And the move paid immediate dividends when former WSL CT campaigner Alejo Muniz (BRA) posted the first ride of the contest in the excellent category (more than 8.00 points out of 10). The judges scored Muniz 9.00 for a series of powerful manoeuvres, which along with a 7.50, saw him win the heat and progress to the Round of 48 along with second placed fellow Brazilian Marco Fernandez.

Watch all the action live at www.worldsurfleague.com

The competitors in the Ballito Pro will also be competing for valuable specialty prizes in the Monster Energy Expression Session presented by Zigzag and the Monster Energy Wave of the Week presented by Zigzag which will reward the respective winners with R20 000 and R25 000 each. See more details at http://theballitopro.com/expression-session/

While the surfers ride the waves, the Ballito Pro Festival is set to turn up the heat in KwaDukuza by offering the best in beach, music and extreme sports entertainment. Locals and holiday-makers will be spoilt for choice with the week-long festival featuring an
extreme sports programme, the Coastal Living Bru Food & Wine Festival and an exciting retail area while the Tropika Ballito Pro Music Concerts Powered by 5FM bring some of South Africa’s most talented music acts to the stage in Salt Rock.

The Ballito Pro presented by Billabong is proudly supported by the KwaDukuza Municipality, Billabong, 5FM, Monster Energy, Zigzag Surfing Magazine, World Surf League (WSL) and Surfing South Africa (SSA).

ENDS

PLEASE NOTE: High resolution images are available rights free to media organisations on request

About the World Surf League
The World Surf League (WSL) organizes the annual tour of professional surf competitions and broadcasts each event live at WorldSurfLeague.com where you can experience the athleticism, drama and adventure of competitive surfing — anywhere and anytime it’s on. The WSL sanctions and operates the following tours: the Junior Tour, Longboard Tour, the Qualifying Series (QS), the Big Wave Tour and the crown jewel of the sport, the WSL Championship Tour (CT) which determines the sport’s undisputed world champions. The organization is headquartered in Santa Monica, California with Commercial Offices in New York. The offices are supported by regional centres in Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, Hawaii, North America and South America.

Surfing South Africa
The Ballito Pro, Ballito Women’s Pro and the Ballito Pro Trials, all presented by Billabong, are registered with Surfing South Africa, the governing body for the sport in South Africa and a member of the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) and the International Surfing Association (ISA).

Nikita Robb from East London won the Ballito Women’s Pro presented by Billabong at Willard Beach in KwaDukuza on Sunday, producing an assured performance in the tricky one metre waves to outshine South Africa’s top women surfers.

A World Surf League (WSL) Qualifying Series (QS) 1,000 event, the Ballito Women’s Pro is the first internationally rated event to be run in South Africa since 2009. The event offered total prize-money of R30 000 and coveted points on the QS rankings.

Robb, who competed at the highest levels of the sport, including a spending a year on the elite Championship Tour (CT) in 2010, defeated Fay Zoetmulder (Port Elizabeth), local junior Teal Hogg (Umhlanga) and veteran Heather Clark (Port Shepstone) in the Final to claim the R10 000 winner’s paycheque and 1 000 points.

“It’s just such an honour to have won this event,” Robb said. “I came up to Ballito a couple of days early and just surfed every day. It’s been a long time since I surfed an event and I really had to get my head into it.”

“I started in Round One and had to surf four heats, so I worked hard for it. It wasn’t just a matter of one day and I’m getting 10 Grand, it was a matter of me putting the effort in the water, spending endless hours being the only girl out there and really getting to know the wave. I put the effort in and that’s what really counts.”

History was made at the event when 16-year-old Samukeliswe Cele (Durban) became the first female Zulu surfer to compete in a WSL event. Cele showed plenty of potential and finished third in her Quarterfinal.

“I’m grateful, excited and it was kind of nerve-wracking. I’m no pro and I was very nervous but I knew I could do something out there because I’m good surfer also,” said Cele. “It was fun and I really want to become a professional surfer. The one thing I want to be is a champion, the world champion, I want to win the world tour.”

The Ballito Pro Trials presented by Billabong, which ran in conjunction with the women’s event, was won by Robson Santos (BRA) whose dynamic manoeuvres and superior wave selection proved the difference in the Final.

“For me this win is very important for getting points in the Prime (QS10,000) event. The Final was very, very hard, but I got two waves – and 8.50 and a 7.50 – and that was enough.”

All the results and images from Sunday’s action can be found at www.theballitopro.co.za

While the surfers ride the waves, the Ballito Pro Festival is set to turn up the heat in KwaDukuza by offering the best in beach, music and extreme sports entertainment. Locals and holiday-makers will be spoilt for choice with the week-long festival featuring an extreme sports programme, the Coastal Living Bru Food & Wine Festival and an exciting retail area while the Tropika Ballito Pro Music Concerts Powered by 5FM bring some of South Africa’s most talented music acts to the stage in Salt Rock.

The Ballito Pro presented by Billabong is proudly supported by the KwaDukuza Municipality, Billabong, 5FM, Monster Energy, Zigzag Surfing Magazine, World Surf League (WSL) and Surfing South Africa (SSA).

PLEASE NOTE: High resolution images are available rights free to media organisations on request

About the World Surf League
The World Surf League (WSL) organizes the annual tour of professional surf competitions and broadcasts each event live at WorldSurfLeague.com where you can experience the athleticism, drama and adventure of competitive surfing — anywhere and anytime it’s on. The WSL sanctions and operates the following tours: the Junior Tour, Longboard Tour, the Qualifying Series (QS), the Big Wave Tour and the crown jewel of the sport, the WSL Championship Tour (CT) which determines the sport’s undisputed world champions. The organization is headquartered in Santa Monica, California with Commercial Offices in New York. The offices are supported by regional centres in Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, Hawaii, North America and South America.

Surfing South Africa
The Ballito Pro, Ballito Women’s Pro and the Ballito Pro Trials, all presented by Billabong, are registered with Surfing South Africa, the governing body for the sport in South Africa and a member of the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) and the International Surfing Association (ISA).

The competitors in South Africa’s first internationally rated women’s surfing event since 2009, the Ballito Women’s Pro presented by Billabong, were greeted with one metre (2-3 foot) waves, cloudless skies and light offshore winds when the event got underway at Willard Beach in Ballito at 7.30am.

A World Surf League (WSL) Qualifying Series (QS) 1,000 event, the Ballito Women’s Pro comprises 19 of the country’s top surfers. It will be completed today with the winner taking home R10 000 of the total R30 000 prize-money, along with 1,000 priceless points on the QS rankings.

The Ballito Pro Trials presented by Billabong, a 32-man event featuring top international and local surfers, will run in conjunction with the women’s heat throughout the day.

The top two finishers in the Trials gain entry to the Ballito Pro presented by Billabong, a QS 10,000 rated event that runs from Monday 29 June to Sunday 5 July with 96 of the world’s best surfers competing for R3 million and coveted QS rankings points.

The finals of the Ballito Women’s Pro and the Ballito Pro Trials are expected to be run between 3pm and 4pm today (Sunday).

Follow the heat scoring live at www.theballitopro.co.za

While the surfers ride the waves, the Ballito Pro Festival is set to turn up the heat in KwaDukuza by offering the best in beach, music and extreme sports entertainment. Locals and holiday-makers will be spoilt for choice with the week-long festival featuring an
extreme sports programme, the Coastal Living Bru Food & Wine Festival and an exciting retail area while the Tropika Ballito Pro Music Concerts Powered by 5FM bring some of South Africa’s most talented music acts to the stage in Salt Rock.

The Ballito Pro presented by Billabong is proudly supported by the KwaDukuza Municipality, Billabong, 5FM, Monster Energy, Zigzag Surfing Magazine, World Surf League (WSL) and Surfing South Africa (SSA).

ENDS

PLEASE NOTE: High resolution images are available rights free to media organisations on request

About the World Surf League
The World Surf League (WSL) organizes the annual tour of professional surf competitions and broadcasts each event live at WorldSurfLeague.com where you can experience the athleticism, drama and adventure of competitive surfing — anywhere and anytime it’s on. The WSL sanctions and operates the following tours: the Junior Tour, Longboard Tour, the Qualifying Series (QS), the Big Wave Tour and the crown jewel of the sport, the WSL Championship Tour (CT) which determines the sport’s undisputed world champions. The organization is headquartered in Santa Monica, California with Commercial Offices in New York. The offices are supported by regional centres in Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, Hawaii, North America and South America.

Surfing South Africa
The Ballito Pro, Ballito Women’s Pro and the Ballito Pro Trials, all presented by Billabong, are registered with Surfing South Africa, the governing body for the sport in South Africa and a member of the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) and the International Surfing Association (ISA).

Jordy Smith demonstrates the form that propelled him to back-to-back victories at Supertubes in Jeffreys Bay in 2010 and 2011 Photo: WSL / Cestari

Surfing Column for Independent On Saturday – Saturday 27 June 2015

By Paul Botha

A Brazilian Storm is about to hit South Africa’s waves in the form of a powerful contingent of the South American country’s top surfers who make up nearly a quarter of the competitors and top the seeding in both the World Surf League (WSL) contests that will be staged at Ballito and Jeffreys Bay over the next three weeks.

The term Brazilian Storm was coined last year when that country was gripped by surfing mania during 21-year-old Gabriel Medina’s sensational run to the world title.

It has gained even more credence in 2015 with Filipe Toledo winning the opening event on the elite Samsung Galaxy Championship Tour (CT) on Australia’s Gold Coast followed by Adriano de Souza’s victory in Western Australia.

Toledo then caused mass hysteria among the 10 000 patriotic fans on the beach and the hundreds of thousands watching live on TV and the internet when he won his second event in Rio de Janeiro.

Not surprisingly the pair head the current CT rankings after five events, with de Souza the top seed and Toledo at No. 3 for the next stop, the R6.5 million J-Bay Open which has a 12-day window period from 8 – 19 July in the fabled waves at Supertubes.

Brazilians also provide the top seed, rookie standout Italo Ferreira, the current World No. 8, and another two of the top four seeds, in the Ballito Pro presented by Billabong, a R3 million, QS 10 000 rated event that runs from Monday until 5 July at Willard Beach in KwaDukuza.

With nearly 100 of the world’s best competitive surfers in South Africa for the two events, including all of the WSL Top 34, it is going to be fascinating watching whether the Latin Americans can maintain their charge towards global domination of the sport.

That aim faces a serious challenge from the likes of three-time world champ and defending and three-time Jeffreys Bay winner Mick Fanning from Australia and a host of others such as the legendary Kelly Slater (USA), Taj Burrow and fellow Australian Joel Parkinson and of course South Africa’s own two-time J-Bay champ Jordy Smith, who have dominated Supertubes for the last decade.

With 27 competitors in the Ballito Pro, at least half of whom are capable of clinching the title, the Brazilian contingent hold a strong hand. But last year’s runner-up Matt Wilkinson (AUS), the second seed, and another couple of dozen competitors from virtually every corner of the globe are just as capable of snatching the nearly R500 000 winner’s paycheque and the invaluable 10 000 rankings points.

The eyes of the surfing world will be firmly fixed on South Africa for the next three weeks. If you cannot get to Ballito or Jeffreys Bay to experience the drama, all the action from the events will be covered by live webcast at www.worldsurfleague.com.

What: The Ballito Women’s Pro presented by Billabong and the Ballito Pro Trials presented by Billabong

When: Both events will be run on Sunday 28 June 2015

Where: Both events take place at Surfer’s Beach, Ballito, in the KwaDukuza region of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Status: The Ballito Women’s Pro is a QS1 000 rated event on the World Surf League (WSL) Qualifying Series (QS)

The Ballito Pro Trials determines the two trialists who gain entry to the R3 million Ballito Pro presented by Billabong, a R3 million QS 10 000 rated event

Both events form part of the Ballito Pro Festival, a multi-sports and cultural festival that runs from June 28 to July 5 at Willard Beach and surrounds in Ballito.

Who: The Ballito Women’s Pro features an 18 person field of South Africa’s best established and emerging female surf stars. Tanika Hoffman (Hout Bay) is the top seed, followed by Emma Smith(Jeffreys Bay), Teal Hogg (Umhlanga) and Heather Clark (Port Shepstone). Samkelisiwe Cele (Durban) will become the first Zulu girl to compete in a WSL event

The Ballito Pro Trials features a 32-man field of highly ranked international and South African competitors including Tiago Pires (POR), Connor Coffin (USA), Pedro Henrique (BRA) and SA’s David van Zyl (Glenashley), Dylan Lightfoot (Jeffreys Bay) and Slade Prestwich (Scottburgh)

Format: Both events use four person heats with the top two in each heat advancing to the next round until the last four in the event contest the Final

Prize-Purse: The Ballito Women’s Pro offers total prize-money of the R30 000 with R10 000 and 1 000 QS rankings going to the winner

The top two finishers in the Final of the Ballito Pro Trials qualify for the Ballito Pro where they are guaranteed a minimum of R9 000 in prize-money and 550 QS rankings points

About the World Surf League
The World Surf League (WSL) organizes the annual tour of professional surf competitions and broadcasts each event live at WorldSurfLeague.com where you can experience the athleticism, drama and adventure of competitive surfing — anywhere and anytime it’s on. The WSL sanctions and operates the following tours: the Junior Tour, Longboard Tour, the Qualifying Series (QS), the Big Wave Tour and the crown jewel of the sport, the WSL Championship Tour (CT) which determines the sport’s undisputed world champions. The organization is headquartered in Santa Monica, California with Commercial Offices in New York. The offices are supported by regional centres in Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, Hawaii, North America and South America.

Surfing South Africa
The Ballito Pro, Ballito Women’s Pro and the Ballito Pro Trials, all presented by Billabong, are registered with Surfing South Africa, the national controlling body for the sport and a member of the SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) and the International Surfing Association (ISA).

South Africa’s surf stars are ready to take on the world’s best at the 2015 Ballito Pro presented by Billabong which gets underway on Monday June 29 and runs until July 5 at Surfer’s Beach in Ballito on the KwaDukuza Coast of KwaZulu-Natal.

A QS 10,000 rated event on the World Surf League (WSL) Qualifying Series (QS), the Ballito Pro features an elite 96-man entry of the world top ranked surfers. On offer is a total prize-purse of US $250 000 (over R3 million) and invaluable ranking points, with the winner taking home nearly R500 000 and adding 10,000 points to his season’s tally.

The quality the entry for this year’s event is evident as just two South African surfers, Jordy Smith (Durban) and Beyrick de Vries (Umhlanga), qualified for the event based on their 2014 yearend rankings. Two more, Michael February (Kommetjie) and Dale Staples (St Francis Bay), have received wildcards as they are the highest placed local surfers on the 2015 QS rankings.

Another 17 locals will be aiming for one of the spots allocated to the top two placed surfers in the Ballito Pro Trials presented by Billabong where they are in a 32-man lineup that includes 15 highly rated international competitors on Sunday 28 June.

Smith, who injured his knee while free-surfing outside the contest arena, has been following a strenuous rehabilitation programme and returned to his hometown from his new home in California earlier this week. The current No. 18 on the elite Samsung Galaxy WSL Championship Tour (CT) and 2010 Ballito event winner glad to be back surfing and is looking forward to his first competition heat after the injury.

“I tore the meniscus and capsule in my knee, but it’s recovered now and it feels great to back in the water,” Smith said. “It’s a great time of year to be home and I’m just looking to gain some confidence surfing again. It’s all about winning the first heat and it’s going to be a blast for sure. I love coming home.”

De Vries is placed 63rd on the QS rankings and, having grown up on the KwaDukuza coast, will have massive hometown support in his bid clinch the honours in an event that he is highly motivated to win.

“The Ballito Pro is one event I really, really want to win, it’s really special for me’ de Vries said. “Every year it comes around I think I’m going to be nervous, but I end up feeling good. I went to school with the guys from Ballito so there are familiar faces on the beach supporting me. I’m surfing lots, I’ve got good boards and this last week my friend Davey Cathels from Australia has been staying with me and we’ve been training together, so I’m fit and ready.”

After a career best runner-up finish in the QS 3,000 Martinique Pro in April, February is the country’s highest QS ranked surfer at No. 58 and is happy to earn a wildcard directly into the Ballito Pro. The lanky 22 year-old’s distinctive yet versatile style that combines powerful rail turns with progressive aerial manoeuvres is tailor made for the wide range of surf conditions the competitors are likely to face during the seven day event.

“It’s super important to get a wildcard as the trials are pretty hectic this year with a combination of internationals and locals,” February said. “I’m guaranteed points now and can focus on the main event and not the trials, so that’s going to help a lot. I’ve also been to Ballito plenty of times so I’m comfortable in the waves and I’ve been spending plenty time in the water and I’m surf fit and looking forward to the event.”

This year’s Ballito Pro features 15 of the world’s top 34 surfers on the elite CT headed by rookie sensation Italo Ferreira (BRA), the current world No. 8. Other standouts are 2014 winner Tim Reyes and fellow American Kolohe Andino, last year’s runner-up Matt Wilkinson (AUS), Hawaiians Sebastian Zietz and Dusty Payne and a strong contingent of Brazilians including Miguel Pupo, Wiggolly Dantas and Jadson Andre.

Jeremy Flores (FRA), 10th in the CT rankings and the runaway leader in the QS rankings, withdrew from the event today after suffering serious facial injuries in a wipe-out while on a free-surfing trip in Indonesia.

David van Zyl (Durban), Dylan Lightfoot (Jeffreys Bay) and Slade Prestwich (Scottburgh) lead the South African challenge in the Ballito Pro Trials. Along with juniors like Salt Rock local Shane Sykes, Matthew McGillivray (Jeffreys Bay) and Adin Masencamp (Strand), they will be hoping to grab one of the trialists spots in the main event.

The KwaDukuza Municipality in partnership with Surfing South Africa (SSA) and the WSL has identified the Ikusasa Kwezinkanyezi (Future Stars) surfing development and support program as the CSI component of the annual Ballito Pro going forward. This year the project will involve five surfers from the SSA transformation program.

Ntando Msibi, Sifiso Mhlongo and Avuyile Ndamase (all Durban) and Joshe Faulkner (Jeffreys Bay) will be competing as wildcards in the Ballito Pro Trials while Samkelisiwe Cele (Durban) will become the first Zulu girl to compete in a WSL event when she participates in the Ballito Women’s Pro presented by Billabong

The competitors in the Ballito Pro will also be competing for valuable specialty prizes in the Monster Energy Expression Session presented by Zigzag and the Monster Energy Wave of the Week presented by Zigzag which will reward the respective winners with R20 000 and R25 000 each. See more details at http://theballitopro.com/expression-session/

While the surfers ride the waves, the Ballito Pro Festival is set to turn up the heat in KwaDukuza by offering the best in beach, music and extreme sports entertainment. Locals and holiday-makers will be spoilt for choice with the week-long festival featuring an
extreme sports programme, the Coastal Living Bru Food & Wine Festival and an exciting retail area while the Tropika Ballito Pro Music Concerts Powered by 5FM bring some of South Africa’s most talented music acts to the stage in Salt Rock.

The Ballito Pro presented by Billabong is proudly supported by the KwaDukuza Municipality, Billabong, 5FM, Monster Energy, Zigzag Surfing Magazine, World Surf League (WSL) and Surfing South Africa (SSA).

ENDS

About the World Surf League
The World Surf League (WSL) organizes the annual tour of professional surf competitions and broadcasts each event live at WorldSurfLeague.com where you can experience the athleticism, drama and adventure of competitive surfing — anywhere and anytime it’s on. The WSL sanctions and operates the following tours: the Junior Tour, Longboard Tour, the Qualifying Series (QS), the Big Wave Tour and the crown jewel of the sport, the WSL Championship Tour (CT) which determines the sport’s undisputed world champions. The organization is headquartered in Santa Monica, California with Commercial Offices in New York. The offices are supported by regional centres in Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, Hawaii, North America and South America.

Surfing South Africa
The Ballito Pro, Ballito Women’s Pro and the Ballito Pro Trials, all presented by Billabong, are registered with Surfing South Africa, the governing body for the sport in South Africa and a member of the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) and the International Surfing Association (ISA).

LOS ANGELES, CA/USA (Wednesday, 24 June, 2015) – The world’s best surfers are just two weeks away from competing in the acclaimed waves of Supertubes at Jeffreys Bay for Stop No. 6 on the 2015 Samsung Galaxy World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour (CT), the J-Bay Open.

Universally regarded as one of the best waves on the planet, Jeffreys Bay boasts a quality righthand pointbreak that delivers unparalleled high-speed consistency, making it the perfect platform to test the world’s best. The event holds a competitive window of July 8 – 19, 2015 and is the only CT stop on the African continent.

Adriano de Souza (BRA) and Filipe Toledo (BRA) continue to hold first and second place on the WSL Jeep Leaderboard heading into the J-Bay Open with Fiji Pro standout Owen Wright (AUS) close behind in third place.

Defending event winner and three-time world champion Mick Fanning (AUS) currently sits in fourth place on the rankings and victory at Jeffreys Bay this year would see him equal 11-time world champion Kelly Slater’s (USA) record of four wins in South Africa. Fanning matches up against compatriot Kai Otton (AUS) and wildcard Dane Reynolds (USA) in the opening round while Slater will take on Jadson Andre (BRA) and Fredrick Patacchia (HAW).

Reynolds, former World No. 4, will once against join the WSL Top 34 as a wildcard at the J-Bay Open following a 9th-place finish at the recent Fiji Pro. Reynolds’ allocation comes via the WSL Commissioner’s Office which cited the Californian’s incredible talent, ability to lift the event’s performance level and recent surfing in Fiji as reasons for his selection.

Slade Prestwich (ZAF) will complete the field after earning a coveted wildcard entry into the event with a win at the JBU Supertrials on June 14, 2015. The Durban-based Qualifying Series (QS) surfer will battle Adriano de Souza (BRA) and Adam Melling (AUS) in Round 1.

“I have nothing to lose and will give everything I have in the J-Bay Open,” said Prestwich. “I love surfing at Supertubes and to get another chance to surf Supers with just one or two other guys in the water is going to be really cool. I cannot wait to surf against the likes of Kelly Slater, he’s a total legend.”

Jordy Smith (ZAF), South Africa’s sole CT representative and a two-time winner at Jeffreys Bay (2010 and 2011), will be keen to return to his favourite event after dropping to No. 18 in the rankings following injury induced withdrawals in the last two events in Rio de Janeiro and Fiji

The J-Bay Open will be webcast LIVE on WorldSurfLeague.com.

The J-Bay Open is the showcase event at the J-Bay Winterfest, a multi-sport and music festival in Jeffreys Bay from July 8 – 19. More details at www.jbaywinterfest.com.

About the World Surf League
The World Surf League (WSL) organizes the annual tour of professional surf competitions and broadcasts each event live at WorldSurfLeague.com where you can experience the athleticism, drama and adventure of competitive surfing — anywhere and anytime it’s on. The WSL sanctions and operates the following tours: the Junior Tour, Longboard Tour, the Qualifying Series (QS), the Big Wave Tour and the crown jewel of the sport, the WSL Championship Tour (CT) which determines the sport’s undisputed world champions. The organization is headquartered in Santa Monica, California with Commercial Offices in New York. The offices are supported by regional centers in Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, Hawaii, North America and South America.